Book 10.5- Three Heads
by L-Singer
Summary: Odysseus and his crew crash into an island and Odysseus must battle a three-headed beast in order to find the king of the island.


1 Insert between lines 61 and 62 of Book 10  
  
As my crew and I sped back, away from Ithaca, we ran into another island. The wind which had escaped from the bag was supposed to carry us all the way back to Aeaea, however, there was an island blocking our ship's path. The boat was smashed, and my crew and I barely escaped. We swam the short distance to the land, and lay out on the beach, having lost nearly all of our possessions. We began to roam the island, looking for someone to help us. The crew was split into small groups which searched the island. The island seemed very bare. There was sand for as far as we could see. We set out to try to find someone to help them. We walked until they arrived at a forest. Starving, we all ate whatever plants lay in front of us, not knowing whether the plants were supposed to be edible. We found a spring and drank as much water as we wanted.  
  
After regaining energy, my crew members and I began to search again. We knew where to find food, but needed a way to get home. As we wandered down a path, a huge, three-headed animal leaped into our path. Many of the crew members retreated quickly, but I bravely stood my ground. The animal bared its teeth and growled, sending the frightened crew farther back. All six of its eyes were focused on the huddled bunch of men. None of them saw me standing in front of it. I took advantage of this and brought my bow and arrow out of the bag which I had managed to save from being sucked into the water when the boat crashed. Before the animal noticed me, I strung my bow and shot an arrow straight into the animal. I shot a few more, unsure of where to hit it in order to kill it. Each arrow brought forth more blood, until finally the animal collapsed, shaking the ground. The crew came forward cautiously to inspect the beast. When they looked closer, they realized that each of its heads was of a different type of animal. One of its head was of a lion. It was orange and had a huge, bushy mane framing an evil face. The nose was red, and so were the partially closed eyes. When the animal was angered, those eyes looked like and spit out fire. Another of the beast's heads was a wolf's. It was gray, and had a long pointed nose. The teeth within its huge mouth were nearly as big as the men. The mouth was slightly open, as if ready to eat someone. The third head, however, belonged to a deer. It wasn't nearly as fearsome as the other two. It was a soft brown and had white spots covering it. Its teeth were small, and didn't look very harmful. Its eyes were the only part of the deer that were frightening. They were flaming red, as if the animal was possessed. As the men inspected the animal, they suddenly heard a loud roar. That was followed by a howl that sounded like a wounded dog. Out of the dead beast's chest burst a lion roaring as if about to attack something, but running as if being chased. A wolf followed the lion, howling and running as well. A deer came out next, prancing and bucking. It trotted out into the forest as well. The crew stood watching, shocked. Their thoughts returned to what was happening around them when they heard a woman's piercing scream. A group of people emerged from behind the animal, looking at it in shock. A man walked up to me and asked if it was I who killed it. I replied that I had killed it, and the man began to thank me profusely and wondered aloud whether I was a god or a mortal. When I told him that I am only a mortal, the man was shocked.  
  
"How could a mere mortal kill a beast such as this? My finest warriors have been either killed or terrified by this animal, and a stranger killed it before we even knew of his arrival? How long had you been fighting it? How did you kill it?"  
  
"My boat crashed on a bank of this island. We lost almost all of our possessions when we crashed. We were trying to return to our homeland of Ithaca, after receiving help from Aelous, king of Aeaea. We were within sight of our home, but I becam so exhausted that I fell asleep on the deck of the boat. My men doubted that the bag of wind that Aelous gave us truthfully contained wind, and they opened it. The wind escaped, blowing us back towards Aeaea. We would have been blown all the way back had we not crashed here. Once we reached the shore and regained some energy, we began to walk. We kept going, getting hungrier and thirstier all the while. We finally arrived at a forest, so starved that we ate whatever lay in front of us. None of it seemed to be inedible, since no one was sick. We drank from the spring, and, energy renewed, set off to find someone to help. We were walking down this path when this beast leapt into our path, eyes as bright as any fire, two of the three heads growling, ready to attack. My men cowered back, making noise in their hurry to escape. I stood here, facing the animal. It was focusing on my crew, never even seeing me. I pulled the bow and arrows from the bag that I had saved from the wreckage, and shot arrows into the animals body. I was unsure of where exactly to hit, so I aimed at many parts of its body. Blood gushed from it, and it stopped focusing on my men, and cowered over its more severe wound like a mother cowers over her baby, protecting it from harm, wanting only to care for the baby, not worried about any harm that comes to it. The animal didn't want me to hit that spot one more time, for it knew that one more hit would kill it. As it stood there, cowering over its wound, it bled too much to continue living. It finally fell to the ground, dead. As it lay there, a lion, a wolf and a deer, the forms of its three heads, sprung from its chest and ran off. We stood, watching the place where they had disappeared in wonder, until we heard a scream and you arrived."  
  
The man stood, still shocked that the beast which had terrorized his people for so long was dead, killed by a stranger. This man standing in front of him couldn't understand how terrible life had been with this beast living there. Children would wander out to play and never return. Mothers would go to find their children, and would be found dead days later. Warriors, attempting to kill the animal would be hurt or killed. No one was safe- it ate animals, which was how its heads got their shapes. The three animals that it had eater most recently were a lion, followed by a wolf, followed by a deer. The animals lived inside of him for a while. If he had eaten another animal, the lion would die, the head shaped like a wolf's would take the position that the lion's had been in, the deer would take the wolf's place, and the new animal would take the deer's place. The beast often had heads shaped like human's, with red , possessed eyes. It would call out with those heads, bringing other humans, then it would eat them as well. They finally had been freed from the never-ending fear of being eaten.  
  
"Please, return to my palace. We'll feed you and prepare you for your journey, then send you off to wherever we can. We don't sail often, so our boats aren't very strong, and wouldn't stay together for the journey to Ithaca, but perhaps you could sail back to Aeaea and receive more help there. Come, we'll go to my palace now."  
  
I followed the man, with my crew close behind. As we walked, the king, named Alolior, told me that we were on the island Stolicala, which was near Aeaea. When we arrived at the palace, there was a feast. We ate incredible amounts of wonderful foods. A bard sang, and we spoke with many different people. After the feast, the king showed my crew and I where to sleep. We were exhausted, and slept as soon as we lay down.  
  
The following morning, the generous king had a huge breakfast prepared. I insisted that my crew and I leave immediately, so that we could return home sooner. The kind king tried to convince us to stay, but he didn't succeed. He gave us a boat, food, and directions to Aeaea, and we left. After sailing for a few days without further mishap, we reached Aeaea. We steered our borrowed boat to the bank closest to king Aeolus' house. 


End file.
